With apologies to the Christmas season, we locals can be forgiven for thinking that Masters Week is also the most wonderful time of the year. After a long and dreary winter everyone is ready for the annual rite of spring that is the greatest golf tournament in the world – The Masters.

Every time there is a serious incident involving a motorist and a bicycle rider, there is a resulting backlash against cyclists in general. While acknowledging that bike riders indeed have a legal right to the road, many question the notion, if not the sanity, of any rider who exercises that right.

Eight teams arrived in town this week to compete in the NCAA Division II Soccer National Championships at Blanchard Woods Park. The semi-finals for the four men’s and four women’s teams will be held Thursday and the championship games will take place on Saturday. The event is hosted locally by Columbia County and the Peach Belt Conference.